Caption: V-2 rocket, engineering diagram. This rocket, initially known as the A-4, was designed by Wernher von Braun and Klaus Riedel as part of a German military research team. The rocket was 14 metres in length, carried nearly a tonne of explosive, and could reach a height of 80 kilometres. It was the world's first ballistic missile, and the first to achieve sub-orbital flight. The first successful flight was in 1942. From September 1944 to March 1945, over 3000 V-2 rockets were launched by Nazi Germany during World War II. The work on the V-2 rocket laid the foundations for later work on space flight.